News

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (formerly CRM!)

Several changes are happening to MS Dynamics CRM – a new updated version is coming along, it is being rebranded as Dynamics 365, ERP systems will become part of the product and the licensing is being split into two editions, Business and Enterprise. To add extra complexity, Microsoft are getting rid of the annual Open licensing option and there is a separate price hike coming in January 2017 because of adverse currency movements against the UK Pound.

KMS are here to help our customers through the process, and new information and details keep appearing which is filling in some of the gaps. In this article, I just want to introduce the new systems as they will eventually be presented. Later articles will look at transitional arrangements for existing customers and how this will affect the KMS Project-CRM Solution, plus some of the new features available.

What will a new customer buy?

From 1st November 2016, any new customers should be buying Dynamics 365 Business or Enterprise depending on their needs and user numbers. However, an added wrinkle is that the Business edition will not actually be available in the UK until sometime in Q2 2017, so some extra interim licensing has had to be made available.

The system has been split into modules (or Apps), the thinking being that users can simply buy the apps they need. If they need more than one App, then Plans are available to cover that. The pricing below is per user per month.

Dynamics 365 Enterprise Edition

Aimed at around 250 users and above, this edition has lots of features built in, including new Apps such as Field Service, a web portal and higher default storage. While there will be circumstances where much smaller companies would want to subscribe to this edition, it is more expensive and may be overkill for many. The Operations App is the latest development of Microsoft AX, a comprehensive ERP system covering all financial and operational aspects of any business.

Dynamics 365 Business Edition

With a maximum of 300 users, this is aimed squarely at the SMB market. It’s pricing is very favourable, even compared to the current CRM licensing. One exciting aspect is the inclusion of a completely new Financials package, which if you are in the market to replace Sage, Quickbooks or any of the myriad of smaller finance systems that are out there, is a compelling offering.

Team Members

Team Members is a completely new license type under both Enterprise and Business giving access to Accounts (Companies), Contacts, and Activities, plus any Custom Entities you may develop. In some ways, it replaces the old Basic and Essential licenses and is aimed at increasing the penetration of Dynamics within an organisation, allowing people who wouldn’t have been afforded a license in the past to gain access at low cost. For KMS this is great news as with our Project-CRM solution in place, many of our customers will be able to take advantage of these low-cost licenses for some of their users.

“Interim” Business

Pending the full launch of the Business Edition, new customers who don’t need the complexity of Enterprise have access to a stop-gap solution. This allows discounted access to just the Sales App and Team Members of the Enterprise Edition. It is limited to 25 Sales Users and 100 Team Members, priced at £24.90 and £3.10 respectively.

January 2017 Currency Adjustment

A nice way of saying price increase! Given the drop in the value of the Pound, Microsoft are increasing their price list from next year. Online services are slated to increase by 22% which looking at the price history of the Pound against the Euro and the Dollar is pretty much what you’d expect (and I’m sure other vendors will be taking similar steps).

As far as we are aware, if you buy between now and the end of December 2016, you will at least lock in the pricing shown above for the first 12 months.